Community-driven development decision tools for rural - IFAD

mechanisms on a list of priority needs and selected investments for the welfare of the entirecommunity. They generally place basic social needs at the top of the list, followed by incomegeneratingactivities (e.g. production and marketing).When this kind of behaviour is not witnessed, it is the likely result of the existing system ofincentives. This system is in turn the outcome of market and public policy failures which mustbe corrected in order to change the factors that influence communities’ rational prioritysetting. Such corrections are necessary for achieving strong impact on the local economy at thecommunity level.Diversifying the sources of support for rural communitiesIFAD projects finance activities that mobilize public resources in support of ruralcommunities. However, CDD projects are also concerned with• supporting governments to re-focus their activities on the public administration’scomparative advantage;• mobilizing the private sector to provide the services which are outside the sphere ofpublic administration;• broadening beyond the public sector the sources of support that poor rural communitiesshould be capable of mobilizing to help themselves.IFAD’s policy of involving the private sector, often non-governmental organizations (NGOs),as providers of specialized services to communities is relevant in this respect. This policy hasbroader objectives than seeking agents often believed to be more efficient, more effectiveand more specialized than government agencies. Properly selected and adequatelymonitored NGOs• are capable of establishing strong links with communities by entering in mutuallysupportive partnerships and collaboration with CBOs;• activate themselves to mobilize incremental non-government resources for their ownactivities on behalf of the communities;• help build a culture within communities through which it is accepted that governmentscannot exclusively resolve all community problems;• facilitate the mobilization of the communities’ own resources to deal with the privatecommercial sector, allowing communities to pursue more cost-effective service delivery.Over the years, IFAD also has made special effort to help interested governments developnational Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) of public utility, which have been supported inseveral countries to service projects aimed at a high degreeof CDD content. 5 In Western Africa, for example, severalBox 4models have been developed in Cape Verde, Mali andWhat does “empowerment”Mauritania. In Cape Verde and Mauritania, governments haveof poor people mean?introduced legislation to rationalize public support for this“The expansion of freedomtype of approach.of choice and action, ofassets and capabilities toparticipate in, negotiate with, The definition of empowermentinfluence, control and holdA key concept underlying CDD is the idea of empowerment, anaccountable institutions thatexpression widely used in development literature, but not oftenaffect their lives.”defined. The definition used in this document follows that of theSource: World Bank EmpowermentSourcebook 2002 6World Bank’s “Empowerment Sourcebook” and refers directly topeople who are of interest to IFAD.5 For a more detailed discussion of CSOs, see Chapter V.6 World Bank. 2002. Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook-PREM. D. Naryan ed. World Bank.12